Despite their unpopularity among some riders, anti-lock brakes have been shown to reduce motorcycle crashes.

Motorcycles equipped with anti-lock (ABS) brakes reduce crashes for bikers of every level of experience, a new study shows, but the biggest benefit comes to inexperienced riders. Newbies riding bikes with ABS are 30 percent less likely to file an accident insurance claim within the crucial first 90 days of ridership and 19 percent less after that, says the Highway Loss Data Institute. (HLDI)

The analysis, limited to those with motorcycle class licenses, included bike model years, the riders' age and other factors and revealed that that ABS bikes had lower claim frequencies throughout a two-year period. Claims for bikes with and without ABS brakes were much higher at the beginning of policies than later on.

"We already knew that motorcycle ABS cuts crashes. What this study shows is that ABS may help compensate for beginners' mistakes," says HLDI Vice President Matt Moore. "At the same time, riders with more experience also reap large benefits from the technology."

Locked wheels spell big trouble for bikers. When you’re driving a car and your wheels lock, you’ll skid and you can employ a variety of evasive measures. When you’re on a motorcycle and the wheels lock, down you go. ABS brakes prevent your wheels from locking by automatically reducing pressure when the system senses a wheel is about to stop rotating. It increases brake pressure after traction is restored, and this all happens within a fraction of a second.

Many bikers think ABS brakes are a waste of money, that they prevent a rider from actually learning to handle a bike whatever the road situation, and that the systems aren’t fail-safe.

“I have nothing against anyone who wants ABS on their bike,” says Inwood resident Eduardo Rodriguez, who has been riding motorcycles for 23 years. “But if a beginner starts to rely on them and one day they malfunction, the beginner won't have developed the skills to compensate, and they'll be screwed."

The study doesn’t assume that everyone who buys a new motorcycle is a newbie rider, though. Regardless of whether or not a bike has ABS brakes, studies show that anyone who buys a new bike will most likely crash it when they first get it or in the immediate months afterward because every bike is different, and it takes riders time to get used to it. After a few months, claims for damage go way down.

"While not all motorcyclists with new insurance policies are novices, those in the later period invariably have at least three months of riding under their belt, so the 19 percent reduction is a key finding," Moore says. "Experienced riders should think twice before they dismiss ABS as something for beginners."